University of Denver Daniels College of Business Strategic Plan 2015-2020
Today’s greatest strengths empower our vision for tomorrow. The global marketplace is anything but business as usual. From disruptive innovators to emerging markets and economies, businesses are asking, “What now?” and “What’s next?” And that’s what makes the Daniels College of Business a great place to be. We’re developing leaders who are not only able to address these challenges, but who thrive in them. Our graduates are game-changers for a changing world. Employers are hungry for business school graduates who are inventive, who possess a powerful sense of self, and who have the grit and capacity to engage and lead in a global and connected world. Our market-ready graduates meet these requirements—that’s the Daniels Difference. Interwoven with the University of Denver’s (DU) bold vision outlined in DU IMPACT 2025, Daniels in Focus is our roadmap for the future. The University has ushered in an era of sweeping innovation and Daniels is at the forefront, channeling thought-leadership and action into the Denver business community—and beyond. Our plan succeeds because it’s built on proven strengths. We leverage our ingenuity in developing relevant, frame-breaking academic programs. Our faculty’s passion for meaningful research is taking center stage. Our students are stepping out of the classroom and into the marketplace. And we are there beside them, championing their personal development and inspiring them with action-based learning.
The vision is as dynamic as the market itself.
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elcome to Daniels in Focus, the strategic plan that frames the College’s long-term trajectory. Its scope encompasses the years 2015 through 2020—and its impact will define the best in management education for years to come. Led by Dean Brent Chrite, Daniels in Focus reflects perspectives from across our campus and beyond. Business leaders, students, faculty and alumni spent months reflecting, engaging and developing new pathways for a new marketplace. The process was iterative and the plan was debated and refined on multiple occasions. Daniels in Focus reflects a vision that lives at the intersection of intellectual rigor and market relevance: Challenging, action-based learning in real time that’s as scalable and dynamic as the marketplace itself.
Our forward-thinking programs produce the visionaries of tomorrow. What’s the best way to instill the qualities of creativity and critical thinking? By doing. We’ve created inventive, hands-on programs that bring business to life. Students are working with businesses in real time, in Denver and around the world, so they learn to address current and complex business issues. This is the center of gravity at the Daniels College of Business. We also give students the mentoring and support they need to develop their personal, centered and authentic leadership narrative. Every day, recruiters ask us for graduates who have the mindset to lead, adapt and collaborate. Daniels can provide them. All of these experiences effectively integrate our classrooms with our community. Students are engaging with Denver businesses in immersive new programs. We’re forging even stronger ties with our many public and private sector partners by applying our business insights and energy to some of the region’s—and indeed, the world’s—most critical economic and non-economic issues. Ultimately, our aim is to impact the human condition.
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Concluding Daniels Tomorrow The Daniels Tomorrow strategic plan launched in 2008 and led the College through an era of dramatic change in the management education industry. We concluded this effort in 2015; here are just a few of the most noteworthy achievements across the organization: • Climbed national rankings for numerous programs. Most significant:
• Best Part-time MBA Program, No. 53 in the nation, Bloomberg Businessweek (2015).
•B est Accredited Undergraduate Business School, No. 79 in the nation, U.S. News & World Report (2014).
• Real Estate Program Specialty, No. 13 in the nation, U.S. News & World
Vision, Mission and Values The College’s vision, mission and values reflect the enduring principles that have guided Daniels throughout our long and distinguished history. As part of this process, they too have been updated to reflect the vitality of today’s economic marketplace. Vision
| Pioneering business for the public good.
Mission
To benefit the public good by developing business pioneers through impactful scholarship, challenge-driven education and lifelong learning.
Values
Culture of innovation and engagement Learn through doing Interact with integrity Diversity and inclusion as a source of strength Global action and influence
Report (2014).
• B est Online Graduate Program, Executive Master of Science in Real Estate & Construction Management, No. 36 in the nation, U.S. News & World Report (2014).
•T op Undergraduate Programs by Specialty, No. 4 in ethics and No. 10 in business law, Bloomberg Businessweek (2013).
• Transformed the Daniels undergraduate program and revamped the student experience, gaining national exposure and improving student satisfaction. • Renovated Margery Reed Hall, a treasured and historic building on campus that was built in 1929. Margery Reed primarily serves as a home to the Daniels Office of Undergraduate Programs. • Strengthened the Daniels Corporate Partners program, raising more than $7 million and connecting with 164 corporate partners between 2008 and 2015. • Elevated the College’s presence with companies in the region and across the country through numerous networking, engagement and recruiting events and programs. • Grew and strengthened the Daniels alumni network to more than 36,000 alumni in 88 countries, hosting alumni events in major cities around the country and the world, reconnecting with more international alumni, and building a rich, active alumni community.
The vision, mission and values are the foundation that links the Daniels, DU and global communities together as a cohesive unit with a shared past, present and future. They reflect what we fundamentally believe is our core purpose. We will hold ourselves and each other responsible for leading professional lives that uphold these tenets. danielsinfocus.com
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Four Core Priorities. One transformative experience.
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he four core priorities that emerged from DU IMPACT 2025 inspire and guide us:
1. Elevate the superiority of our academic programs, infusing them with relevance for today’s marketplace. 2. Act as a wellspring of talent and ideas for Denver’s thriving business community. 3. Create an unrivaled student experience: inclusive, exciting, demanding and personally fulfilling. 4. Retain and recruit excellent faculty members while supporting and promoting rigorous, impactful research.
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These critical priorities are inextricably connected to Daniels in Focus and we fully leverage this convergence.
CORE PRIORITY #1
An Unrivaled Student Experience: Developing critical and sought-after skill sets. Daniels has always been a great place to be. Students love our small class sizes. Faculty and student interaction results in a culture that is both supportive and stimulating. Sustained and reciprocal engagement with the broad Daniels community, as well as with our many local and global external partners, is a vital part of equipping students for the 21st century workplace. Our commitment to our students’ personal and professional development is absolutely central to our institutional mandate. Our faculty supports each and every student on their Daniels journey. At its core, the student experience at Daniels is structured to individuals, enabling them to excel in a volatile global marketplace and to become immediate value creators. The experience for Daniels students is nothing less than transformative. Our approach to learning has never been “old school.” Today, we’re harnessing the pioneer spirit that created best-in-class standards like integrated curricula, ethics and our reinvented Denver MBA, each resulting in an immersive new world of experiences. Students are rolling up their sleeves, stepping into the marketplace and tackling the challenges of the moment. They are moving beyond geographic boundaries to embrace the global marketplace. At Daniels, students are exposed to a kaleidoscope of business practices, cultures and expectations. It’s a hyper-connected world—and we connect our students to all that it offers.
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“We are developing agile thinking collaborators with the character to lead.”
10 days. One life-changing MBA experience.
It’s more than a model for education. It’s a survival technique. Calling all student entrepreneurs! Here’s the chance to live and breathe the creation of a business. You know that idea for a mobile app that’s been bubbling in the back of your mind? The Madden Challenge competition is your chance to design it, write a business plan and pitch it to a team of angel investors—the TV show Shark Tank has nothing on our contest. Better still, it culminates in the winning team receiving a monetary award to help launch their business. “Tomorrow’s entrepreneurs must understand how to succeed in a diverse global economy,” explains Blair Madden Bui, CEO of John Madden Company. “This program is more than a model for education. It’s a survival technique. By teaching students through the lens of technology and innovation, they can define the solutions that the world demands.”
In November 2015, 39 students in the Daniels Executive MBA (EMBA) program travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Athens, Greece. They met with businesses like HSBC, Western Union and Hellenic Petroleum to discuss solutions to those countries’ most vexing problems. During this 10-day program, students attended an alumni reception in Dubai to discuss global business. And they took part in an effort that would change their lives: they teamed up with the Salvation Army in Athens to assist thousands of North African and Middle Eastern refugees seeking asylum. The international travel component of the Global Business course is the pinnacle experience for EMBA students. After identifying business opportunities in two countries with contrasting challenges and strengths, students apply secondary research to build feasibility studies— then, they hit the ground running. There is no better way to gain firsthand insight into the countries’ economies, cultures and regulatory environments.
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The Core Priorities of Daniels in Focus CORE PRIORITY #2
Market Connectivity: Creating a hub of engagement and impact for the public good. Daniels is well recognized beyond the classroom—our ties to the business community are decades strong. Our students are an active and contributing component of Denver’s energy and dynamism. With the call for engagement outlined DU IMPACT 2025, the College has been expanding its reach as the center of thought-leadership and impact in the heart of Denver. After all, we are more than a campus. We are part of Denver’s thriving, growing community. This sense of place fuels our vision, feeding and elevating the exchange of ideas. We provide broad access to our resources and intellectual capital, which cultivates strategic partnerships and opportunities. Faculty, students, business leaders and thought-leaders are working together, creating a vibrant hub that serves the public good. One of the most important requirements of today’s hyper-connected world is the ability to achieve international impact from your own backyard. And Daniels delivers. Our regional partnerships fuel our global reputation. They highlight our ability to contribute to—and define—the global discourse on critical issues of our day.
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Proving corporate integrity and responsibility is not just good PR. It’s good business.
“The Institute for Enterprise Ethics’ Breakfast Roundtables have become the #1 place in Denver for civil conversation about tough organizational issues.”
In 2015, the Institute for Enterprise Ethics at Daniels delivered a wealth of resources and events on the topic of corporate responsibility and integrity. The Institute live-streamed panels of senior operating executives and filmed debates among scholars, providing global audiences with a continuous stream of enrichment via the web. The Institute is now poised to expand its footprint, presenting events that engage and enrich on a larger scale than ever before. The Institute for Enterprise Ethics demonstrates how trust, confidence and mutual respect are not only the underpinnings of a strong and stable economy—they are proven to sustain businesses and bottom lines. Operating on the forefront of enterprise integrity and responsibility means that brands are elevated as emblems of excellence. Companies shine in the eyes of customers, vendors and their communities. They attract the best and brightest talent. Operating with integrity and responsibility produces more than good will. It drives growth and profitability.
The Capstone to real-life learning. Companies continually turn to Daniels for help developing data-driven, innovative solutions. Through the Master of Science in Business Analytics Capstone project, corporations like DirecTV, Crocs, Western Union and DaVita engage students to leverage their data to make informed business decisions. The chance to take a project from data collection to analysis to recommendations is a powerful experience. Students build their data interpretation and project management skills—and companies benefit from the insights of tomorrow’s analytics leaders. danielsinfocus.com
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The Core Priorities of Daniels in Focus
CORE PRIORITY #3
The Best in Faculty and Research: Committing to thought-leadership and impact. DU IMPACT 2025 is committed to retaining and recruiting the best in faculty and promoting the body of knowledge they create through research. Innovation and impact begins with our faculty, and we will continue to attract the very best in the world. At Daniels, the faculty are more than teachers—they are partners and collaborators in the academic journey of our students. The knowledge and insights produced by our faculty, combined with their demonstrable commitment to student and stakeholder impact, affirms their work at the intersection of academic rigor and market relevance. The global marketplace is increasingly defined by the principles of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity—VUCA. At Daniels, faculty research into business and competitive trends extends beyond the academic environment. Our educators provide actionable insights for public and private sector enterprises, enabling companies to effectively migrate through market-place obstacles. By making faculty research an integral component of the experience at Daniels, we further engage our students and igniting their passion for discovery. Above all, Daniels celebrates a culture of scholarship—which means giving faculty research the visibility and recognition it deserves.
“At Daniels, faculty research into marketplace trends and business practices extends far beyond academia and profoundly impacts the real world.” A global epicenter of scholarship The Strategic Management Society (SMS) erases all borders in the exchange of knowledge. Representing more than 1,200 institutions and companies in over 80 countries, SMS spearheads the creation and dissemination of new knowledge in strategic management. It is a hub to facilitate collaboration spanning research interests and geographic boundaries. The management faculty at Daniels is very much a part of SMS programs and events. In 2015, the Koch Chair of Entrepreneurship, Sharon Alvarez, and the Louis D. Beaumont Chair of Business Administration, Donald Bergh, co-chaired the 35th Annual SMS International Conference in Denver. Our Associate Professor Vijaya Narapareddy served as the associate program chair of the SMS Teaching Community.
Dr. HG Parsa serves up restaurant reality Daniels Professor HG Parsa spent 13 years in the restaurant industry prior to his career in academia. In 2004, he decided to debunk the commonly accepted myth that 90 percent of restaurants fail within their first year. His experience told him otherwise. His research was published in Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, garnering national attention. Today, Dr. Parsa has studied restaurants across the country. His five-part research series, “Why Restaurants Fail,” has been adopted by the National Restaurant Association as expert documentation. danielsinfocus.com 11
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The Core Priorities of Daniels in Focus CORE PRIORITY #4
Curricular and Programmatic Innovation: It’s about more than a degree. It’s about 360-degree readiness. DU IMPACT 2025 defined how critical and creative thinking are vital in the 21st century business world. In an evolving marketplace, new challenges arise by the moment. There isn’t a guidebook—only ingenuity. We give our graduates the intellectual flexibility to adapt. To take tough problems apart and reconstruct them as opportunities. They can adapt to new careers, or adapt their careers to fresh possibilities. Being ready for anything: that’s what puts our graduates at the top of recruiter’s lists. Daniels’ programmatic portfolio will always uphold the DU tradition of a rigorous, stimulating and holistic academic experience. The center of gravity will be the marketplace—not the classroom. We will activate these principles through real-world challenges. By melding classroom with boardroom, we turn learning into action-based experiences. Our legacy of faculty engagement continues to champion each student’s individual development. Mentoring and coaching builds confidence and emotional intelligence, helping students find their footing as problem-solvers and leaders. We integrate traditional pedagogy with the latest technologies—because today, market-ready also means technology-adroit.
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And just as the business world is in a constant state of change, Daniels continues to evolve and adapt in kind. We continuously assess the quality and relevance of our programs to ensure they stay true to our vision and core priorities. New programs, degree and non-degree, will align with the needs and expectations of the global marketplace, anchored by deeply personalized development. We define this, the difference between a degree and 360-degree market readiness as The Daniels Difference.
“It’s a changing world. We need a game-changing learning model.” The reinvented Denver MBA: “A beautifully and deliberately choreographed learning experience.”
The New Master’s in Finance: more than learning by the numbers. In spring 2016, the Reiman School of Finance unveiled a customizable new Master of Science in Applied Quantitative Finance. This rigorous program integrates the concepts of quantitative finance and big data. Designed in collaboration with the Department of Business Information and Analytics, this program exemplifies hands-on learning. In the Portfolio Management class, students use industry datasets and analytical tools to manage the Reiman Fund, a long-only, mid-capitalization stock portfolio. This program has received the rare honor of STEM designation by the Department of Homeland Security. It sets Daniels apart as one of the few colleges in the country to deliver STEM-certified graduates—yet another way we meet marketplace demand.
Great leaders share one passion: to be true game-changers. The reinvented Denver MBA makes this passion a reality. In fact, it’s been described as a “beautifully, and deliberately choreographed learning experience.” Four challenges serve up the cornerstones of the Daniels Difference. The program is also market-based: Denver MBAs use a Business Canvas Model to grow their powers of creativity, innovation and foresight. Most importantly, our Denver MBA incorporates intensive coaching and mentoring, enabling each student to develop a refined and authentic self-narrative. The Denver MBA serves as the standard for the College’s graduate and undergraduate education. Each and every Daniels program delivers a comprehensive intellectual, professional and personal development experience; the Denver MBA is just the beginning. But what a way to get started!
Learning has never been more personal or meaningful. Challenge-driven education gives Daniels students the skills and aptitudes that matter most to corporations, entrepreneurs and nonprofits. Throughout the entire 20 months of the Denver MBA program, students work on actual business problems. But leadership isn’t created in a vacuum. Students need feedback and motivation to grow most from their experience. With the Denver MBA, each student has a Personal Growth Agenda. They are counseled as they work hand-in-hand with business leaders, and guided and mentored by faculty. They even have an on-call coach, just like executives in the corporate world. Highly personalized development is the key to emotional and intellectual growth as a leader. danielsinfocus.com 13
Daniels in Focus provides context around which we can build and grow. With the valuable input of our faculty, staff, alumni, students, corporate partners, advisory board members and many others, and in alliance with DU IMPACT 2025, our “umbrella” strategic plan, we have developed a set of value drivers—our four core priorities—to inspire and guide us. These priorities will enable us to build upon our strengths, take advantage of opportunities and elevate the College as a leader in management education. Just as important, these areas of focus will create a shared culture at Daniels that embodies our vision, mission and values, and shape the intentional, interconnected community of DU. The real work lies ahead—and we are grateful for the continued support of our community. Learn more about Daniels in Focus and follow our progress at danielsinfocus.com. Learn more about DU IMPACT 2025 at imagine.du.edu.
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The Daniels Difference challenge-driven education: Take on real-world business challenges via action-based learning.
market-readiness:
Realize knowledge from programs directly aligned with marketplace expectations and opportunities.
leadership & legacy:
Find your greatness with 100+ years of elite business leadership development.
danielsinfocus.com